A blog about sewing machine repairs,but mainly my hobbies which include old school role playing games, science fiction,films, horror, and general geekery. Sit down and stay a spell.

Friday, May 20, 2016

One Eyed Cyclops, UK Holmes D&D, and More Holmesian D&D Resources

I've had a very interesting night last night between banging my head against a wall with a sewing machine repair and playing catch up with a fraction of what's out on the net about Holmes D&D. I grew up with a very different set of mysterious creatures in the front of me that I'd stare at for hours in the front of the U.K. Blue Book Holmes D&D rule book. I've seen it many times since on the internet but back in the 70's it was a brief relic of my misspent youth. Well, after zipping around Dragon's foot I came across this wonderful thread on the artwork of Holmes. Check out that splash page with the wizard and two fighters going at it with supposedly some cyclopian orcs. And then a fighter going up against cyclopian orc and his ladies in the belly of a dungeon or sewer later in the rule book.

So what do we know about these monsters of blood and thunder? Zenopus 77 from the same thread reveals their origin which to me has been shrouded in mystery and wonder for a very long time;"

That's an interesting question. The original
source for the depiction is the UK Holmes Basic rulebook, published in
Dec 1977. It has two pictures with cyclops creatures - see the post on
the previous page of this thread. The first is on the title page, and is
an analog of the art in the US, so the cyclops seem to be stand-in for
orcs. The other picture doesn't have an analog, and shows a larger
cyclops that the Citadel mini is based on - perhaps it is meant to be an
ogre? There are no cyclops described in the text, which is identical to
the US version.In White Dwarf #5 (Feb/March 1978) there is a
column, Monsters Mild and Malign by Don Turnbull that is a precursor of
Fiend Factory. In this issue he describes monsters from the US zines,
including the The Dungeoneers and Alarums & Excursions. A Cyclops is
mentioned (HD 12, AC3, MV 12, Attacks at -2 due to cyclopia, 5d12
damage, treasure type E + 5000 GP), but this is probably unrelated to
the artwork since it was created in the US.The Citadel Miniature of the Cyclops is from 1979 and must be based on Fangorn's artwork since it is so close in details.Finally,
in White Dwarf #21 (Oct/Nov 1980) there is a whole Fiend Factory column
based around Cyclops, a mini-wilderness scenario called "One Eye
Canyon". This includes a Cyclops write-up by Albie Fiore with artwork by
Russ Nicholson that looks just like the second Fangorn cyclops &
the mini.(Thanks to G. Fullerton for helping me locate this one)Albie
Fiore's Cyclops is HD 6, AC 6, MV 12, AL CE, TT M x10 (individuals), D
(lair), AT 3 (at -1 due to cyclopia, -2 for missiles), D 1d6 x 2
(claws), 2d6 x 1 (bite), SA hypnotic stare as AD&D spell hypnotic
pattern for 6 rounds, range 6", one individual per round, can only
affect a character one time, SD +2 on saves vs illusions. Cyclops live
groups of 2-20 with any group of 10+ having a leader with 7 HD, +2 to
hit, +3 damage. The write-up is almost a whole half-column so there are
many more details on their habits etc.So, to me it seems that Fangorn's artwork led to the Citadel mini, which then led to the full White Dwarf write-up." This was back when White Dwarf magazine was actually a dungeons and dragons and table top gaming magazine. Later on we see the same fighter going against a purple worm and it becomes evident that this group is working their way through the rulebook's artwork. And where are the cyclopian humanoids from in popculture? Well while zooming through the interwebs I stumbled upon this little possible origin point for these guys here

The UK version of Holmes D&D had a profound impact on my young psyche and what's more because it was only published for such a short time span many folks pre internet didn't believe me about those cyclopian humanoids. Which brings me to my next observation for today, PC level play in Holmes seems to hit the roof when talking with other D&D players which always reminds me of this scene in Spinal Tap.

I can seriously understand the long term gaming goals of a dungeon master and players and in that effect I can see the reasons why this issue is of the utmost importance to long range campaign planning. The subject first came up the other night over a beer with some friends.

In the meantime, there is a really handy M-U Spells Level 1-3 Ref Sheet that came up on the Zenopus Archives site. This couldn't come at a better time for me. But for those PC's ascending to higher levels and getting into the thick of it. I'm going with Expert D&D as my next jump point for Holmes Basic D&D. Heresy you say? Not exactly, there are really some solid reasons as to why this is.

About Me

My name is Eric I started gaming with Dungeons & Dragons white box back in 1977 & haven't looked back. I'm a crafter, sewer, sewing machine repair man who also happens to be a Dungeon Master. Thanks for taking the time to read this.